Caucus vs. Primary

The electoral process to nominate a candidate for a presidential election is usually called "the primaries," but there are two different systems that states use: caucus and primary.

Unlike a primary, where residents simply cast their ballots, a caucus is a local gathering where voters openly decide which candidate to support. The caucus format favors candidates who have a dedicated and organized following because a small band of devoted volunteers can exert an outsized influence in the open setting of a caucus.

States choose whether they want to hold primaries or caucuses. Most states hold primaries but states like Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota and Maine use the caucus system.

Comparison chart

Caucus

Primary

Voting method

Voting is conducted at local party meetings and is done by raising hands or breaking up into groups.

An election is held/ secret ballot

Who can vote

Only members registered with the political party can participate (if closed system)

Depends upon the state. Some states allow only registered party members to vote; some allow party registrations on the same day; some are completely open to all residents of the state.

States

States that use the caucus system are Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Wyoming and Iowa

All other states

Contents: Caucus vs Primary

At a caucus, members of a political party meet in person at an appointed time and location to discuss the candidates and debate their merits. The voting for candidates happens either by raising hands or by separating into groups, with the votes being counted manually by counting the number of supporters of each candidate.

In contrast, a primary is much like a regular election i.e. depending upon the type of primary, those eligible to vote cast a secret ballot.

The caucus system was the original way in which political parties chose candidates. However, people began to feel that the secret ballot was a fairer, more democratic system so in the beginning of the 20th century, states began to move to the primary system.

At the heart of the electoral process is the system of delegates. Each state has a certain number of delegates that represent the state at the National Convention of either political party (Democrat or Republican). It is at this event that the party's presidential nominee is chosen.

The delegates of each state are "awarded" to one of the presidential candidates and the candidate with the most number of delegates on his/her side wins the nomination. Some states use a winner-take-all approach and award all their delegates to the winner of the caucus or primary in that state. Some states award delegates in proportion to the percentage of votes the candidates receive.

In general, states decide whether to hold a primary or caucus and this decision applies to both parties. But in some cases (for example, Washington) there are variances between the process used by Republican and Democratic parties in the same state.

Another difference is that there are some delegates (called unpledged delegates in the Republican system and superdelegates in the Democratic system) who are not bound by the results of the caucus or primary in their state. They are free to vote for the candidate of their choosing.

Closed Primary: People may vote in a party's primary only if they are registered members of that party. Independents cannot participate.

Semi-closed: As in closed primaries, registered party members can vote only in their own party's primary. However it allows unaffiliated voters to participate as well. Depending on the state, independents either make their choice of party primary privately, inside the voting booth, or publicly, by registering with any party on Election Day.

Open Primary: A registered voter may vote in any party primary regardless of his own party affiliation. When voters do not register with a party before the primary, it is called a pick-a-party primary because the voter can select which party's primary he or she wishes to vote in on Election Day. Because of the open nature of this system, a practice known as raiding may occur. Raiding consists of voters of one party crossing over and voting in the primary of another party, effectively allowing a party to help choose its opposition's candidate. The theory is that opposing party members vote for the weakest candidate of the opposite party in order to give their own party the advantage in the general election. An example of this can be seen in the 1998 Vermont senatorial primary with the nomination of Fred Tuttle as the Republican candidate in the general election.

Semi-open: A registered voter need not publicly declare which political party's primary that they will vote in before entering the voting booth. When voters identify themselves to the election officials, they must request a party's specific ballot. Only one ballot is cast by each voter. In many states with semi-open primaries, election officials or poll workers from their respective parties record each voter's choice of party and provide access to this information. The primary difference between a semi-open and open primary system is the use of a party-specific ballot. In a semi-open primary, a public declaration in front of the election judges is made and a party-specific ballot given to the voter to cast. Certain states that use the open-primary format may print a single ballot and the voter must choose on the ballot itself which political party's candidates they will select for a contested office.

Run-off: A primary in which the ballot is not restricted to one party and the top two candidates advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. (A run-off differs from a primary in that a second round is only needed if no candidate attains a majority in the first round.)

Mixed Systems: In West Virginia, where state law allows parties to determine whether primaries are open to independents, Republican primaries are open to independents, while Democratic primaries were closed. However, on April 1, 2007, West Virginia's Democratic Party opened its voting to allow "individuals who are not affiliated with any existing recognized party to participate in the election process".

Comments: Caucus vs Primary

Anonymous comments (2)

May 16, 2013, 6:50pm

If anyone really cares I'm working on Civics

— 205.✗.✗.80

-1

November 21, 2013, 5:11pm

Just to let you know I live in Utah and we also have the Caucus system, so I would say you need to update this article. I just signed a petition that would allow voters to vote on whether we would go to a primary system.